DUANE
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Duane's take
The marker for Lackawanna Ranch in Hill County tells it this way, and I'm passing it along to you. Back in 1858, a man named Dr. John S.
Scofield rode into this part of Texas and laid down roots, buying himself a 2,500-acre tract of land. He chose a name for it, an Indian name: Lackawanna. He'd come a long way to get here, moving with his family all the way from Kentucky, and once he settled in, Hill County put him to work.
He served as a doctor and as county judge, and later he became a director and vice-president of Sturgis National Bank. The man wore a lot of hats, is what I'm saying. And somewhere in the middle of all that, Dr.
Scofield introduced shorthorn cattle to this area. That right there was a contribution the land would remember. Dr.
Scofield was born in 1826 and passed in 1901, and when he did, this part of the ranch passed to his son Frank, born in 1887. Now Frank took what his father started and ran with it, raising prize-winning shorthorns right here on the Lackawanna. The ranch itself had already seen some hardship by then.
The first house on this site burned, and in its place a new structure went up in 1917. That's the one still standing. Frank Scofield, who lived until 1974, tended this land through decades of Texas weather and change.
Then in 1945, the Lackawanna Ranch was purchased by E. G. Murphree.
The name stayed. The shorthorn legacy stayed. Some places just have a way of holding on to what they're given.
What the marker says
Dr. John S. Scofield (1826-1901) chose the Indian name "Lackawanna" for the 2500 acre tract of land he bought here in 1858. After moving with his family from Kentucky, he served Hill County as a doctor and county judge. Later he was a director and vice-president of Sturgis National Bank. Dr. Scofield introduced shorthorn cattle to this area. His son, Frank (1887-1974), who inherited this part of the ranch in 1901, raised prize-winning shorthorns. After the first house on this site burned, the present structure was built in 1917. The Lackawanna Ranch was purchased in 1945 by E. G. Murphree.